How Allison Janney Really Feels About Mom's Cancellation

The first seven seasons of CBS sitcom Mom, which premiered in 2013, revolved around the relationship between Bonnie (Allison Janney) and her adult daughter Christy (Anna Faris). Both mother and daughter were recovering addicts, whose support systems and dynamic with one another became unlikely sources of comedy. Then, in between its seventh and eighth seasons, Anna Faris quit Mom, shifting the focus of the series entirely onto Janney's Bonnie. In a brief statement, Faris revealed that she simply desired to move on to new performing opportunities. As a result, Christy was revealed to have enrolled in Georgetown Law School as justification for her absence (via People).

It turned out, however, that Mom without Faris was unsustainable. In February 2021, CBS announced that the series' eighth season would be its last. While on one hand the departure of Faris shook up the series' formula considerably, Christy's arc was, if not neatly, wrapped up nevertheless. Thus, the series lost one of its stars and due to one of its two main characters reaching the endpoint of her story, ultimately leading to its cancellation. Janney subsequently revealed her thoughts on finding out Mom would not be returning following the conclusion of its eight season.

Allison Janney discussed Mom's cancellation in an interview with TVLine in March of 2021. She revealed that the news came considerably sooner than those involved in the series' production expected. Furthermore, not only was the suddenness of the announcement a surprise, but Janney, at least, had expected the series to continue beyond its eighth season. She then expressed regret that, as a result, its writers had little time to ramp Mom's story up to a proper conclusion.

Janney theorized that the primary reason CBS pulled the plug on Mom was financial. By her estimation, Faris' departure may have been sustainable given adequate viewership. The series' eight season may have simply failed to put up numbers equivalent to those of prior seasons.

Finally, Janney reminisced on what the show ultimately came to mean to her over the course of her eight seasons starring as Bonnie. "It's been a great show to be a part of, and it's so rare when you do something like that [where] it affects people in a positive way out in the world," Janney said, citing fans who let her know that their real-life sobriety stories were inspired by the show. "It makes me sad, but onward."